HAKUBA Dry Softbox is a new waterproof camera bag with IPX4 certification and clear window on the side. It comes in two sizes and two colors, but for now it is only available on the japanese market.
HAKUBA is a japanese camera accessories manufacturer. Among other products, they were also presenting their new Dry Softbox during CP+ 2019. Saki from cinema5D talked with Okumura-san from HAKUBA about this new product and its features. Please note, that CP+ is a local show taking place in Japan and as such, most japanese company representatives speak japanese only. We chose to highlight this product and bring you the video in japanese with english subtitles.
HAKUBA Dry Softbox
The HAKUBA Dry Softbox is a waterproof bag for camera gear. Well, basically anything can be put inside to be protected from humidity, but the box has internal padding specially designed to accomodate and protect camera and its accessories.
The company already produces plastic waterproof boxes for camera equipment, which they call Dry Box. That’s why this new product is called Dry Softbox. The closing mechanism of the HAKUBA Dry Softbox uses the same principle as waterproof backpacks for paddlers. You need to kind of roll the opening of the box and then connect both ends of the buckle to seal it.
The Softbox has IPX4 certification. This kind of certification is defined as protection from splashing water, no matter the direction. Just a reminder – the IPX certificates are used to evaluate waterproofness of various products, where the IPX0 means no waterproofness whatsoever and IPX8 means full protection, when immersed in water over 3 feet.
The HAKUBA Dry Softbox comes in two sizes – Medium and Large – and both of them are available in two colors – black and orange. The design of the softbox includes a clear window on the side to quickly see what is inside of the box.
Pricing of the HAKUBA Dry Softbox is 6,300 japanese yen (about $57 USD) for the Large version and 4,900 JPY (about $44 USD) for the Medium size. The product is now only available on the japanese market, but the company is considering to expand to some international markets too.
Personally I am not quite sure about usability of such a camera bag. It protects the camera from water, but obviously I have to take it out if I want to use it and then it is not protected anymore. It depends on the situation of course, but I might prefer some other waterproof bags which will allow me to use my camera, even if the operation might be limited.
What do you think of the HAKUBA Dry Softbox? Did you ever feel the need for such a product? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

Vanguard VEO SELECT is a new line of camera bags designed to be carried in various ways. The bags come in four different sizes and two different colors – black and dark green. They can accomodate camera with lots of accessories and they feature quick access openings and various smaller pockets.
Vanguard is camera accessories manufacturer well known for their tripods and bags. At CP+ 2019 in Japan cinema5D met with Kevin Yeh from Vanguard and we talked a bit about their new line of bags – The Vanguard VEO SELECT.
Vanguard VEO SELECT Bags
The VEO SELECT bags come in four different sizes:
VEO SELECT 35 – Smallest model, that can only be carried as a shoulder bag. Internal dimensions of camera compartment are 360 × 185 × 220 mm (14 1/8”×7 1/4”×8 5/8”), exterior dimension are 380 × 245 × 250 mm (15”×95”×9 7/8”), weight is 1.30Kg (2.87lbs) and maximum loading is 7.00kg (15.43lbs). Aside from camera gear it also offers space for 10″ tablet.
VEO SELECT 41 – Smallest of the three backpack models for one camera body with accessories. Internal dimensions of camera compartment are 275 × 125 × 410 mm (10 7/8”×4 7/8”×16 1/8”), exterior dimensions are 320 × 205 × 420 mm (12 5/8”×8 1/8”×16 1/2”), weight is 1.53Kg (3.37lbs) and max loading is 5.40kg (11.90lbs). The bacpack can also accomodate up to 13″ laptop.
VEO SELECT 45M – Middle sized backpack for one camera body with lots of accessories and lenses. Internal dimensions of camera compartment are 275 × 110 × 440 mm (10 7/8”×4 3/8”×17 3/4”), exterior dimensions are 320 × 190 × 460 mm (12 5/8”×7 1/2”×18 1/8”), weight of the backpack is 1.51Kg (3.33lbs) and max loading is 7.8kg (17.19lbs), There is also place for up to 13″ laptop.
VEO SELECT 49 – Biggest backpack of the line for two camera bodies with many accessories. This is the model we looked at during our interview. Internal dimensions of camera compartment are 290 × 125 × 490 mm (11 3/8” × 4 7/8” × 19 1/4”), exterior dimensions are 340 × 205 × 5050 mm (13 3/8”×8 1/8”×20 3/16”), weight is 1.66Kg (3.66lbs) and max loading is 9.2kg (20.289lbs). This backpack offers also a space for up to 15″ laptop.
As you could clearly see in our video, the three Vanguard VEO SELECT backpacks can be carried in three different ways – as a bag with side handle, on a padded shoulder strap, or as a traditional backpack with two back straps. All backpacks also offer quick side access opening to reach the camera, full rear opening to reach all the stored gear, and various small pockets and top compartment for smaller pieces of gear or personal items and documents. Dividers in the main gear compartment can be repositioned to meet the needs of different gear.
The VEO SELECT line of backpacks can also hold different tripods attached on the side. The material is durable, but overall slim and light and it comes in two colors – black and dark green. All bags come with total coverage rain cover. The material at the bottom of all bags is water- and scratch-resistant and there is a strap to connect the bag to a trolley for convenient moving around.
The bags are already available for purchase on japanese and US market. Price is around $120 USD for the biggest model VEO SELECT 49.
What do you think of the Vanguard VEO SELECT line of bags? Do you use some Vanguard bag already? If yes, how do you like it? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

Shimoda is expanding its camera bag system with a new size bag the Shimoda Explore 30L, new interior modules and new accessories. This is the third bag size in Shimoda’s Explore series, that aims to be a fully modular bag system, letting you choose bag size, different interior camera modules and accessories according to your specific needs. Here’s an overview.
Shimoda’s Explore series previously consisted of a 40L and a 60L bag size, with a small and medium core unit to configure your bags interior for use with your camera. With the 40L and 60L being pretty large bags, the addition of the Shimoda Explore 30L size makes the bag line usable for more casual or less equipment heavy use cases, as well as smaller people. Still Shimoda is trying to keep all the benefits of the larger bag sizes in this smaller form factor.
The Bag
The Shimoda Explore 30L still has the same lightweight, highly water resistant materials of the larger bag sizes, with the sealed zippers and double sided coating, which meets ecological standards. The shoulder straps are well padded, vertically adjustable and have sleeves, loops and zippable pockets for accessory attachment, as well as a sternum strap. There is a detachable waist belt, that is also padded and has loops.
Like the larger sizes the bag has multiple access points, with the main camera compartment being accessible from the bag, or the sides. The main back hatch also doubles as a laptop sleeve, accommodating laptops up to 13″ in size. Being smaller the Shimoda Explore 30L should be just as carry-on friendly as the larger sizes are.
New Core Sizes and Accessories
In addition to the already available small and medium core sizes, by popular request Shimoda is introducing two new sizes called “Large DSLR” and “Medium Mirrorless”. While the Large DSLR size is designed to hold professional bodies, with up to 300mm lenses, the Medium Mirrorless has less depth, thus not wasting any space for the more compact common mirrorless size bodies. The Shimoda Explore 30L can hold any of the now 4 available core sizes. Let’s assume that, like the older core sizes, these will come with their own sleeves, making the cores usable even outside the Shimoda bags (the small size even came with a sleeve that had a shoulder strap, so it could be used as a small, portable shoulder bag).
While Shimoda already has a line of well made accessory pouches, now you can also buy a kit of 3 different sized stuff sacks, made out of meshed material to hold soft goods, in a more breathable fashion. One could imagine either using these to organise clothes on the inside of the bag, or hang wet clothes on the outside.
Additionally for the neat freaks out there, you will be able to purchase a set of additional dividers for the core units, so all your lenses and other gear can have their own perfectly sized compartment, configured to your needs.
A new belt booster can now be used to expand the waist belt to fit less slim waistlines.
With the introduction of the Shimoda Explore 30L, Shimoda has delivered an interesting update to its bag lineup, that expands its usability as a system, considerably. Being a company committed to the adventure photography market, it would still be interesting to see, if Shimoda could expand the line even further, to even smaller bag sizes – maybe a 20L pack, or even a sling – while also still retaining the modularity of the system.
What do you think? Do you like Shimoda’s new Explore 30L? Or would you rather see even smaller sizes of bags? Let us know in the comments!

After the great success of their Kickstarter campaign for their Everyday Messenger bag, Peak Design returns with 4 new bags in their Everyday range.
The concept of the Peak Design Everyday Bag seems to be quite simple, really. Expandable, functional and tough camera bags that adapt to the needs and active lifestyles of shooters and muggles alike. Their original Everyday Messenger bag, with its custom made hardware and origami-inspired FlexFold dividers proved to be quite a hit with Kickstarter backers. Now, they are back with another crowdfunding campaign already funded almost 4 times over, and still with a month and a half to go.
You can pre-order the Everyday Bags for the prices below. However, Peak Designed has reintroduced limited early bird prices, so you can even knock off another 10 bucks off the price while the early bird offer lasts.
The Peak Design campaigns have been very well received by backers on Kickstarter. They certainly have earned the trust of their consumers, offer a lifetime warranty on their products, and are now the most funded active campaign on Kickstarter, so they may be worth a look!
Do you own any other Peak Design products? What do you think of them? Let us know in the comments below.

miggo just started their second Kickstarter campaign for AGUA, a new and innovative, storm- and waterproof camera bag.
Once upon a time there was a very successful bag company by the name “Kata bags”. Kata was acquired by Manfrotto (VITEC group) and earlier last year completely merged into it to become “Manfrotto bags”.
The move which resulted in a layoff of hundreds of loyal dedicated Kata employees gave some of the talented designers the opportunity to take destiny into their own hands and found “miggo“. The company was established to equip photography enthusiasts with comfortable, smart and simple carrying solutions for their “real” cameras.
miggo’s first product, “Strap & Wrap” was a Kickstarter success story that retrieved more than $80,000 and brought over 1500 backers on board.
Now miggo is back with a new interesting product, the “AGUA”. AGUA (“Water” in Spanish) is a storm-proof camera-carrier. It is different than the common waterproof camera bag because it allows intuitive quick-drawing of the camera. The AGUA’s special structure allows the photographer to comfortably carry his camera close to the body in any weather – rain, snow, sandstorm or even in a dense urban environment, without worrying about the fate of his expensive equipment – and draw it quickly and with ease at the right moment to capture a perfect shot.
More details about AGUA and miggo’s new kickstarter campaign can be found HERE

The Vitec Group made some adjustments recently and decided to end the “Petrol Bags” brand of their popular camera bags. However, they were rebranded to the famous Sachtler brand, most widely known for tripods and the Artemis stabilizer line.
Our friend Dan Chung from newsshooter.com spoke to Tobias Keuthen from Sachtler at BVE 2015 about the change and their full new product line (which can also be seen on their website).
I personally am a big fan of Petrol Bags and my DSLR trolley has been my main camera bag for many years since I bought the C300 – and it still is faultless. Assuming that Sachtler will maintain the high quality of the Petrol Bags, I am emotionless about the brand name change, however Sachtler certainly rings a bell with more people who know our industry.

Think Tank Photo is known for their quality camera bags and cases mainly targeted at photographers. But here’s a new giant camera case we found quite interesting that might be useful to the more eager videographers out there.
With interior measurements of a meter by 35 centimeters this “camera case” is really huge. Of course it can be used for large items like lighting kits or similar, but it also comes with many small separators so it can be used to store a truckload of small gear. Why not?
As a video shooter I often find myself carrying 3-4 bags to a shoot and if you are familiar with that situation you might find that the Think Tank Production Manager 40 could be a valid alternative.
It certainly isn’t on the budget side in terms of pricing, but comes with Think Tank durability and many features as described in the video above. The Production Manager 40 is $549 and available here.
More information on www.thinktankphoto.com

Kata Bags, a staple brand name in the photography accessories industry has announced to merge into sister brand Manfrotto, also a Vitec Group brand. The merge will see an end to the production of Kata products, however both brands assure that the heritage of Kata will continue within new Manfrotto lines.
Kata Bags will influence a new camera bag line, the Manfrotto Pro Light sporting the same fabric and level of quality as previous Kata products.
From the Kata website:
“With this merge we took the opportunity to improve our bags’ internal performances by adding CPS, a Manfrotto protection system that provides a thick layer of structured, shock-absorbing core sectional dividers that safely cushion the valuable equipment you keep at the heart of your bag. This guarantees maximum protection to the gear inside.”
Some will consider this an end of an era. Kata bags have had a huge influence over the accessory industry; it’s unlikely you’ll find a hire camera clad in any other soft bag than a Kata, Petrol or Porta Brace.
Kata has been a part of the Vitec Group for a while now, and the company seems to refocus their attention to their most well-known brands, bundling more product categories under fewer brand names. The Manfrotto Pro Light series looks good, and are immediately available.
The Manfrotto Pro Light line can be found here.